Spend an afternoon in the life of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte & Miranda… find out what’s in store when you visit the Sex & the City Hotspots with On Location Tours!
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Sex & the City Hotspots: On Set in NYC
From Seinfeld & The Sopranos to Gossip Girl & How I Met Your Mother, New York City is the most filmed TV location in the world.
But no show captures the spirit of the Big Apple quite like Sex & the City.
While many of the interior scenes were shot at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, a lot of the outdoor scenes were filmed on the streets of New York City itself. Sex & the City was all about authenticity & it doesn’t get any more real than that.
So if you’re a fan of the show like us here at DIY Travel HQ, don’t miss the Sex & the City Hotspots tour with On Location Tours in NYC!
On Location Tours: How It Works
Jump onboard a luxury coach bus & ride around the neighborhoods of Manhattan while a licensed guide points out where dozens of Sex & the City scenes were filmed:
- Imagine yourself shopping with Carrie as you pass the designer boutique shops on Bleeker Street…
- Or maybe you would prefer to check out the art gallery where Charlotte worked at in the West Village…
- Then crash a pool party with Samantha at the top of the SoHo House…
- Before watching Miranda & Steve get married at Jefferson Market Garden….
If you need to refresh your memory, screens on the bus play video clips of the scenes on the show, right as you’re passing them by! Sex & the City comes alive with On Location Tours!
The tour guides are all local actors & actresses, who love to share their passion for the show. Our guide Lital has had a number of starry encounters, not just with the cast of Sex & the City but also with other celebrities in NYC. Intrigued? You’ll just have to take a tour with On Location Tours to find out!
Sex & the City Hotspots: Adults Only!
Just like the show, the Sex & the City Hotspots Tour is for adults only. Expect some swearing & plenty of talk about sex, just as it should be!
We had a full bus of girls – and a few poor/lucky guys! – including 3 bachelorette parties & a divorce party! Mix in a visit to a sex shop, cupcakes on & cosmopolitans, and you can imagine that it was a whole lot of fun!
If you want to really go all the way, On Location Tours offers customized Sex & the City Hotspots tours by limosine, which can also be combined with a private shopping tour, dinner at a restaurant from the show & more!
Sex & the City Hotspots: On & Off the Bus
The Sex & the City Hotspots Tour runs for approximately 3.5 hours. Half of the time you’re on the bus, while the other half is spent on foot.
This was our favourite part as you literally get to walk in the footsteps of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte & Miranda!
Left, right & centre, there are Sex & the City locations in every direction you look in NYC… here’s a selection of some of our favourites 🙂
Sex & the City Hotspots Highlights
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New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was the site of Carrie & Big’s ill-fated wedding in the Sex & the City movie. In the 1st scene, Carrie is returning a book when she sees a wedding being set-up & is hit by divine inspiration.
Things didn’t go according to plan though as in typical fashion, Big stands her up at the altar. He just “couldn’t get out of the car…”
Charlotte & Miranda rush Carrie out of the library & into a limo. She spots Big from the window, gets out of the car, rushes up to him & throws her flowers in his face – all in front of the New York Public Library.
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The Pleasure Chest
While we saw the New York Public Library from the bus, our 1st stop on the Sex & the City Hotspots tour was at The Pleasure Chest.
This was the store where Charlotte bought her life-changing “Rabbit” vibrator – and since that episode, the Pleasure Chest have sold over 10,000 “Rabbits”!
We got the chance to shop at & explore the iconic sex shop for 20 minutes.
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Buddakan Restaurant
Our next stop was at the uber-trendy Buddakan restaurant, where Carrie & Mr Big had their wedding rehearsal dinner in the Sex & the City movie.
It’s a huge space & we only had 10 minutes, but it was enough time to run around & recreate photos, especially at the lounge where Big gave Carrie her last “single girl kiss.”
We are definitely keen to come back to Buddakan for dinner & drinks, their pan-Asian menu is right up our alley, & the ambiance is super chic!
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Carrie’s Apartment
The ultimate stop on the Sex & the City Hotspots tour was standing in front of Carrie’s apartment in the Greenwich Village!
We had to line-up in single file in silence, as the real-life owners don’t appreciate their claim to fame… there’s a trespassing sign & chain in front of the steps, and they’re also known to shout at fans from their Shame on You, Trump window!
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Magnolia Bakery
Stuff your faces with cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery like Carrie & Miranda! It’s here on the bench in front of the bakery where Carrie announces to Miranda that she has a new crush – furniture designer, Aidan.
In real life, there’s no bench & it was only a 30 second scene but it rocketed Magnolia Bakery to fame and started the cupcake craze in New York & around the world.
We were given Magnolia Bakery cupcakes on the tour bus which were moist & yummy – a sweet treat indeed, thank you On Location tours!
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O’Niel’s / Scout
All good things come to an end & our last stop was at Aidan & Steve’s bar “Scout,” named after Steve’s dog 🙂
In reality, it’s a speakeasy-style watering hole in Soho named O’Nieals.
When Carrie saw the bar for the 1st time, she said: “There was no sign of him, but he was everywhere. In the mahogany bar, wood floors, carved ceiling. The whole place looked and felt just like Aidan.”
It will definitely look familiar if you’re a big fan of the show.
And what better way to end the Sex & the City Hotspots tour than with a round of $10 cosmopolitans with new friends?!
Know Before You Go
On Location Tours: Sex & the City Hotspots
Schedule: Daily at 11am; Fridays & Saturdays at 11am & 3pm
Duration: 3.5 hours
Price: $49.00
Contact Information:
- Phone: (212) 913-9780
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: On Location Tours
*** The Final Word: The Sex & the City Hotspots tour should be on the bucket list for every fan of the show! ***
Who’s your favourite SATC character?
* We received a complimentary Sex & the City Hotspots tour, thank you to On Location Tours for hosting us. We only recommend fun, value for money activities & experiences that we believe our readers would enjoy. As always, all opinions & photographs are our own.
May 2017
Comments
Thanks so much for the handy post! I’d love to do this Sex and the City tour and think it’s absolutely brilliant they show clips right on the tour bus. Magnolia Bakery is a great foodie stop too – yum!
This is a pretty interesting and exciting tour. It is always fascinating when you trace the trail of a film or TV show. It gives a great thrill when you visit the palces where you have seen characters from the serial or fimm and watched the story unfold,
I would definitely do the SATC tour! It sounds fun and entering this imaginary world is an experience to remember!
This looks like a wild time! I don’t know much about the show, but I love a twist on visiting a city.